Results tagged ‘ Endy Chavez ’

Thank God that the month of May is over! Even though we closed the month playing the way we all think we can, the truth is that the first few weeks of May were terrible. Too much inconsistency, too many ups and downs. One day we can look like the best team in the world and the next game we can look like an average one.

But all that is in the past. At this moment each player is doing his job, and the result is we have won four straight series, including two important ones against teams in our division, the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals.

There are still about 100 games left and every indication is that the division will come down to the wire. Nobody is going to give up easily. That is why the key to staying in the race and winning the title is consistency. I ask the fans to keep supporting the team, because we have a good team and they are trying their hardest on the field to win.

Now let’s answer some questions:

Orelvis Montero, Fernando del Pino, Juan Guillén, Guillermo Vázquez and Alexis Romero are among those that are suggesting that Alexei Ramirez’s moving to shortstop from second base where he played in 2008 is the reason for his slow start this season.

I think Alexei is a great hitter and he showed it last season. But this is the Major Leagues where the advanced scouts send in their reports and the pitchers go over videos in order to find weaknesses in each hitter. That is why the hitters also need to make adjustments, which is what he wasn’t doing. The worst part was that Alexei was taking his offensive worries out to the field and it was affecting his defense. He even admitted that the couple games he sat on the bench helped him find his rhythm. His average is going up and his production has been vital to our winning streak of late.

Viciedo is playing in Double A with the Birmingham Barons and is having a good season. At the time I am writing this he is hitting around .260. During Spring Training, I was able to confirm with my own eyes that the kid could hit, but as it is to be expected, he needs to play some games in order to develop his potential.

Like I said in Arizona and I´ll repeat it here, players like Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter had to play in the minors in order to get better. That is what Dayan is doing: playing every day for when he comes to the big club he is ready to contribute to the team. Will he be ready this season? I don´t know, but the organization is counting on him.

First off, I think this situation will change pretty soon, because in the last three years we have made an effort to sign more young Venezuelan talent. There are some names that keep popping up like Gregory Infante, Eduardo Escobar, José Alberto “Cafecito” Martínez, who unfortunately has been hampered with injuries, in addition to players like Miguel González, Jerry Puente and others.

One of the first things I did after I became manager was to convince the front office to invest more resources (time and budget) in Latin America. The tendency had been to find young talent in the Dominican Republic, where there are talented youngsters, but now, Amador Arias is doing a great job scouting Venezuela and the fruits of his efforts will soon be seen.

One of our readers, Carlos Graterol suggests that one of the solutions to the problems we had have in the leadoff spot is Endy Chavez. Endy is a great friend of mine and is an excellent hitter, but I don’t think the Mariners will give him up very easily.

Ramón Antonio Obando asks if it is true that I was thrown out of a game for arguing balls and strikes against the other team. Yes, it was something like that. I was thrown out after umpire Mike DiMuro called a strike on a pitch to Jhonny Peralta, the shortstop of the Indians, which was low. An inning earlier he had thrown out Jermaine Dye for arguing a called third strike. I was trying to explain to the umpire that his inconsistency was affecting the game.

Quiterio Henriquez, Raúl Fernández, José Sequera and Alfredo Uga asks why the White Sox don’t play more “Caribbean baseball,” which is what we Latinos call the style of play which emphasizes more of stealing bases, bunts and hit and runs. We are on the way to that style. I am convinced we will see more “Caribbean baseball” now that there isn’t artificial power in the game.

The end of the steroid age is going to force teams to be more creative when scoring runs and we are slowly trying to build a team that is based on power, speed, consistent pitching and good defense. This year, the injuries have limited what we have been able to do, but we are on our way.

Israel Díaz Ramos writes to ask my opinion on the political situation in Venezuela, while Ruben Cadiz Henriquez tells me: “to stick with sports, zero politics.” In the column I write for El Universal (Venezuela) I have touched on political issues pertaining to Venezuela more than once.

Gilberto Sandrea writes: “Will we be lucky enough to see Ozzie Guillén as the coach of Venezuela during the next World Baseball Classic?”

Gilberto, if that happens it’s because I have been fired as manager of the White Sox, since the rules of that event prohibit the participation of Major League managers.

That gives me the opportunity to answer an email from Jesus Rodriguez, who asks me to also publish and respond to negative comments and not only the positive ones. Fortunately, the only negative comment I have received up until now has been yours. Jesus says that I am a bad manager and that I will soon be fired. If that happens, like Jesus predicts, then perhaps I can be the manager of the Venezuelan team, but until that happens, my contract runs until 2012.

Javier Rosario and Martín Ramos ask why we haven’t signed Pedro Martinez to bolster our starting pitching staff. I remind both of them that the job of signing players is that of the general manager, Kenny Williams, who tried his hardest to land Jake Peavy, who would have been a big help. The pitching staff worries are also shared by Jose Hernandez who says we “should find one or two pitchers in the open market that will provide some consistency.” As many of you have gathered that is not very easy since every team is looking for the same, but I am sure that Kenny is on the lookout for ways to help the White Sox get better.

Williams Rodriguez asks if the White Sox would be interested in a hitter like Barry Bonds. Honestly, no. At the present time that is not we are looking for.

Carlos Armando Cheluja asks what is said when a manager visits the mound. First, let me tell you what is not said. We don’t tell him to throw strikes, since obviously that is what he is trying to do. If the idea is to keep him in the ballgame, the first thing is to ask how he is feeling, and after that I alert him to who is coming up in the lineup, who is more difficult of a matchup, that type of stuff. But in general, when the manager goes out to the mound it is to take the pitcher out of the game, and in that case it is better to let him talk to try and convince you to leave him in. In reality, the most interesting conversations are the ones between the pitchers and the pitching coach.

There are a lot of other interesting questions that I would love to respond to, but it is impossible because there are so many. I would like to thank everyone for their positive comments, analysis and suggestions. Some of those are of great use to me.

I will wrap this up without send out a big hello to Enrique “Quique” Germán, 13, who writes from Hermosillo, Mexico, and expresses his confidence in the White Sox. Thanks to you and your family for your support.

In two weeks I will be back again responding to your questions and comments.

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